Shooting postcards

[Rich Rohrich]

I was out tonight scouting locations to do some super wide panorama shots of the Chicago skyline. While I was there trying to work out the details I figured I should shoot the obligatory "postcard" shot just in case I ever need a job running a tourism kiosk. :whoa:

 

[Chili]

Boy, I'm torn over which I prefer as they are both really great presentations.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Thanks Doug. They look much better without the heavy JPEG compression.

http://www.chicagostories.net/Downtown/D300_1381_1a_1280.jpg
http://www.chicagostories.net/Downtown/D300_1381_2a_1280.jpg

 

[Papakeith]

I'm partial to the color shot

 

[Papakeith]

Just a thought. post up a version without the two towers with the red lights. The red tower lights on the right really distracts my eye. I'm just curious how it would look.

 

[biglou]

Good stuff as always, Rich. :cool:

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Just a thought. post up a version without the two towers with the red lights. The red tower lights on the right really distracts my eye. I'm just curious how it would look.

PK - I have a bunch of shots from last night. When I get home I'll find one that doesn't have the Sears Tower in it.

 

[Papakeith]

I'm going to try to explain myself. It'll probably come out wrong but *shrug*. Also, keep in mind that I don't know what I'm talking about and just going with my gut reaction.

It's not the tower itself. I think it's more the red reflected in the water. This is going to sound odd, but it changes the mood of the photo as I scan left to right. The Blue is nice and mellow and I'm all relaxed and then--- RED! My brain also can't decide where my focus should be on the picture.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Makes sense to me. That's why I did a version in B&W just to see how it changed the feel of the picture.

 

[Rooster]

I vote for the color version, awesome shot Rich!

The Blue is nice and mellow and I'm all relaxed and then--- RED!

I KNEW you loved Yamaha deep down inside!

Anywho, I agree the red is a little distracting.

 

[Papakeith]

leave it to you to put a blue spin on this ;)

 

[squeaky]

I, too, like the color photo better. The one thing that bothers me is how bright the bluish light is - can that be toned down?

It almost hurts my eyes to look at...

 

[Rich Rohrich]

I, too, like the color photo better. The one thing that bothers me is how bright the bluish light is - can that be toned down?

It almost hurts my eyes to look at...

I'll post some of the other versions that are shot with different exposure and different white balance. :cool:

 

[IndyMX]

I played with your image in Photoshop a bit...

Just adjusted the brightness and saturation on the blue lights..

 

[oldguy]

Great stuff as usual Rich. Indy I like the way you turned down the glare just enough to stop it from being distracting

I'll have to take a picture of our cities skyline all 5 or so buildings

 

[Rich Rohrich]

That's a nice tweak Indy. Overall it's a scene that is begging for HDR. :cool:

Here's another one from last night. While it's not a great picture from a technical standpoint, I really kind of like it. I'm not sure the things that make it work for me as wallpaper on a 24" LCD translate to a small image.

 

[oldguy]

I would really like to see just a bit more definition of the buildings outlines on the last one

 

[IndyMX]

That's a nice tweak Indy. Overall it's a scene that is begging for HDR. :cool:

Thanks Rich..

Just have to isolate the area you want to play in, and adjust the brightness and saturation. Really easy.

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

You still standing on your no hubbard cave shot? The lake front won't look like that this weekend! Back when I worked down there the japanese was buying up every piece of real estate possible. Gary's hopped up picture made the red lights a lot less distinctive.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Yeah some of them look connected... :think:

They're supposed to look connected.

 

[Red 250]

Here are a couple of shots I took one morning about 6:30..

Nothing as nice as the Op but I liked them......................Red

 

[Kawidude]

I like the color version better of the first two you posted. Those color reflections look really nice!

I also like the last one you posted. Normally I'd say that a little separation between the buildings and the background would have been good, but I kept looking at it and I'm digging how the shapes of the buildings are implied by the lights coming out of them. Pretty cool technique!

 

[jackflack44]

The B&W is my favorite. Keep shooting

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Here are a couple of shots I took one morning about 6:30..

That third one is a really nice shot. The rays of light always add something special.

I would really like to see just a bit more definition of the buildings outlines on the last one

I also like the last one you posted. Normally I'd say that a little separation between the buildings and the background would have been good, but I kept looking at it and I'm digging how the shapes of the buildings are implied by the lights coming out of them. Pretty cool technique!

Dave & Kawi. Like I said earlier, the little compressed version posted here doesn't show it too clearly. It looks pretty good on a 24 monitor but it's a long way from being what I saw in my head. I think it's a good basic concept, but this one is just a poor example/execution. The upside is I have an excuse to head back to the beach and try it again. Next time I'll shoot it at a longer focal length and do a multi-shot panorama. ;) If I get ambitious I'll shoot brackets for each panorama section and then combine them with HDR to see if I can get the look I was going for. I've see it done right in drawings of the New York and Chicago skyline, I'm just not sure if I can pull it of with a camera. It's worth a try though.

Earlier that night I tried to capture the beauty of harbor ( same basic spot, just facing west rather than east) as the sun was setting. I missed the great shot there as well but learned a lot about what NOT to do, so it wasn't a totally wasted effort.. :whoa:

... and one last one from when I was goofing around getting ready to pack up and leave. :whoa:

 

[Red 250]

Thanks for the comment on the picture...
I love your harbor shot...